


Dancing Ewoks, Painted X-Wings.

by CynicalPudding



Category: Anastasia (1997), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anastasia Fusion, Amnesia, Background Relationships, Darth Tantrum and his Evil Space Ginger, Don’t worry, Fluff and Angst, Get Together, M/M, Mentioned Character Death, frenemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-04-24 15:51:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14358681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalPudding/pseuds/CynicalPudding
Summary: Ben Solo, Prince of Alderaan, disappears when the palace is attacked by followers of the evil Snoke. Years later, Luke Skywalker, the brother of Queen Leia, offers a reward for Ben’s return.Sensing an opportunity, a scheming duo, Armitage Hux and Phasma, plan to pawn off a phony. They hold auditions and choose an orphan boy with amnesia and a remarkable resemblance to the missing prince.But, they get a bit more then they bargained for in the form of the fiery and cynical Kylo Ren.





	1. Prologue

“There was a time, not very long ago, when we lived in an enchanted world; elegant palaces and grand parties. The year was 3290 LY and I was the Queen of Alderaan and Naboo.”  
~  
_The Palace of Chandrila seems to shine like a beacon with the light coming from inside. Figures twirl about a golden ballroom, the music loud and jovial. Queen Leia watches from her throne with a soft smile on her young face. The air smells like perfume and the beginnings of the wonderful feast to come._  
~  
“We were celebrating the 9 year anniversary of the Republic’s victory on Endor, and that night, no fire burned brighter than that of young Ben Solo, my son.”  
~  
_Leia could not hold back a laugh as Han lifted their son into the air in time with the music. The boy squealed with joy, his legs kicking as if he believed he were flying. When Han set him down, he bounded over to Leia, climbing the stairs to her throne as fast as his legs could carry him._  
~  
“He begged me not to return to Naboo, so I had a very special gift made for him to make the separation easier for both of us.”  
~  
_Leia smiled as she pulled up the draping sleeve of her gown, revealing a bracelet with a large silver circle of metal, a small circular blue stone embedded in the centre of the decorated surface. Ben regarded it with wonder as Leia removed the bracelet from her own wrist, handing it to Ben._

_“For me?” he asked in wonder, running his small fingers over the blue stone._

_“Something to show you that I’ll always be with you, no matter what,” Leia answered, taking the bracelet and plucking out the blue stone to reveal an engraving underneath._

_“Read what it says.”_

_Ben leaned in closer, his brow crumpling as he focused. “Together in Naboo. Really!” Ben said excitedly, hugging Leia around the waist. Leia chuckled as she returned the hug, cheek burying in Ben’s soft black curls._  
~  
“But, we would never be together in Naboo, for a dark shadow had descended upon the house of the Organa’s. His name was Snoke. We thought he was a myth, but he was real. Power mad; dangerous.  
~  
_“How dare you come here,” Luke growled, stepping in front of the crowd as if to shield them._

_“I am not here for you,” Snoke stated, making eye contact with Leia before his eyes flitted to Ben._

_Luke squared his shoulders, activating his lightsaber with a glare. “If you do not leave willingly, I will not hesitate to make you.”_

_“You think you can force me to do anything?” Snoke laughed cruelly. “I place a curse on your name, and all who carry it, Skywalker. Mark my words. You and your family will die within a fortnight. I will not rest until I see the end of the Skywalker Organa line forever!”_

_With a flourish, Snoke raised his hand to the crystalline chandelier, grunting as he sent it crashing to the ground to a chorus of screams from the crowd._  
~  
“Consumed by his hatred for my family, Snoke became less than human for the power to destroy them. He warped the minds of men, women, and children to do his bidding.

“And from that moment on, the spark of unhappiness on our planet was fanned into a flame that would soon destroy our lives forever.”  
~  
_People advanced on the palace of Chandrila, armed with blasters, torches, electrostaffs._

_Inside, the evacuation was chaotic. Leia lead Ben quickly down the hallway before he pulled away from her, looking horrified._

_“My bracelet!” he cried as he ran the opposite direction down the hall._

_“Ben!” Leia yelled, picking up her skirts and following after him. “Come back! Come back!”_

_Ben raced into his room, Leia close behind as the boy hurried to his chest and pulled it open, removing the bracelet from inside with a look of relief._

_“Ben!” Leia reprimanded as she closed the door behind them, both crying out as a resounding boom sounded nearby. Leia ran to Ben, cradling him in her arms as a door seemingly in the wall creaked open behind them._

_“Please,” said a small boy, not too much older then Ben as he seemed to push them towards the secret servent’s entrance he’d come out of. “Hurry! Come this way, out the servant’s quarters!”_

_A thud was heard and Ben gasped, looking down at his bracelet, the small blue stone missing. He scrambled, trying to turn back. “The stone!” he pleaded with the boy, but the boy gently pushed him through the door._

_“Go!” he said as he closed the door behind them, pressing his back to it as men, dressed in red armour wielding strange weapons, crashed through the door._

_“Where are they, boy?” one demanded, advancing on the small red haired boy. He looked around in a frenzy before spotting a nearby vase and throwing it at the closest man. In turn, another man raised his staff, clubbing the boy over the head with it and sending him to the ground, unconscious._

_“Mother!” Ben cried as Leia led him across the uncharacteristically icy river behind the Palace._

_“Keep up with me, darling,” Leia replied urgently._

_Ben screamed as he felt a force grab hold of him, not letting him move. Leia turned, her face morphing into one of horror as her eyes landed on the figure standing a few metres away, skeletal hand outstretched._

_“Snoke!” Leia gasped, holding Ben’s wrist tighter._

_“Let me go, please!” Ben wailed, struggling against the force hold piteously._

_“You’ll never escape me, child. Never,” Snoke spat, laughing almost gleefully as he flicked his wrist, flinging Ben to the ground and dragging him closer._

_He gasped as his grip seemed to falter, eyes locking onto Leia’s outstretched hand. He almost laughed when suddenly the ice beneath him began to break. In a last ditch attempt to grab at Ben, his movement jarred the brittle ice and he fell through, disappearing into the murky water._

_Leia pulled Ben upright, grabbing his hand once again and resuming their hurried pace towards the ships. Leia called out as the last ship began taking off, running faster to catch it, Ben trying his best to keep up._

_The hatch of the ship opened and a few men reached out to them, managing to pull Leia onto the ship. They reached out for Ben, but he couldn’t seem to run fast enough._

_“Ben! Hurry! Hurry!” Leia cried, reaching out to him. Their hands connected, tearful brown eyes meeting their twin as Ben struggled to keep up._

_“Mother! Don’t let go!” Ben begged, his face red with effort._

_Leia screamed as their hands came apart, lunging forward. She struggled against the men holding her, watching in vain as Ben fell to the ground, striking his head against a rock and falling still._

_“BEN!”_  
~  
“So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever. And my Ben, my beloved son; I never saw him again.”

………


	2. Rumour in Arkanis

~15 years later~

Hux stepped out into the gloomy, bleak streets of Arkanis, pulling his coat tightly around himself. The town square was bustling with activity, a massive hub for all the gossip in the little corner of the Outer Rim they inhabited.

Whispers had always travelled through the streets, half-baked theories of the survival of the last remaining Skywalker-Organa child that kept the hope for a brighter future intact for the working class citizens.

That particular theory had only grown in popularity when Luke Skywalker, brother of Queen Leia, announced that there would be a reward of 100,000,000 Nova Crystals to anyone who could bring the lost Prince home to Naboo.

Hux was not like the public with their undying hope. Hux was an opportunist, and where there was a huge sum of money, there was an opportunity; an opportunity to get the kriff out of dreary Arkanis.

Hux weaved his way through the crowd, walking into an alleyway and coming to a door. He knocked four times quickly, paused, knocked twice quickly and once slowly and much harder, paused, then once slowly, twice quickly, and once slowly.

After just a moment, the lock clicked and the door opened.

“We need to come up with a better form of communication. Do you know how annoying it is to knock 17 times just to spell my name out,” a voice said from inside.

Hux nodded his head, the edge of his lips turning up in amusement. “Good morning to you too, Phasma,” he greeted, walking in past the towering woman.

“I didn’t say good morning. I was complaining,” Phasma stated, her blue eyes twinkling with barely concealed mirth. Hux ignored her in favour of walking to the nearby table, picking up a piece of paper and looking over the contents.

“For your information, morse code is a perfectly good form of communication. You’re just impatient.”

Phasma snorted in response.

“Is this the list for today?” he questioned, flipping the paper to see that it continued on the back.

“Yep. That and the three other papers underneath it. Lots of people want a shot at posing for the lost Prince. Who knew that a three way split of 100,000,000 Nova Crystals could be so alluring,” Phasma said sarcastically.

“Well,” Hux sighed, picking up the other papers and placing them into a leather binder.

“We’d better get started with auditions.”

………

 The wind whistled in the trees, the only sound to be heard in the dreary dawn in Takodana. The morning air was bitterly cold, freezing the condensation on the windowsill.

Kylo yawned, stretching out his back and sighing at the numerous pops. He sat up in his cot, unable to stifle another yawn as a knock sounded on the door of his room. He pulled his threadbare blanket around him to ward off the uncharacteristic cold, turning to look at the door. 

“Come in,” he called.

The door creaked open, revealing the small form of Maz Kanata. She entered the bare room, carrying a small tray with a steaming bowl on it.

“What is that?” Kylo asked immediately, trying to peer into the bowl. Maz scoffed.

“Why good morning to you too and you’re welcome for the warm meal,” Maz said in an annoyed tone, setting the tray rather forcefully on Kylo’s lap.

Kylo ducked his head a bit at the chastisement, carefully picking up the spoon next to the bowl to stir what appeared to be porridge.

“You’re nervous for today,” Maz stated rather than asked, sitting beside him on the bed. Kylo nodded minutely, staring into the mushy porridge.

“You’ll do just fine. Remember, you’re leaving here with a guaranteed job in Jakku. You’re a hard worker so I have no doubt that you’ll survive.”

Ren frowned slightly at her words, his fingers unconsciously brushing over the small detailed engravings in the bracelet on his wrist.

“Maz… what if… What if I don’t want to work in a scrapyard in Jakku?”

The old woman laughed, her wrinkled face turning to Kylo.

“Where else would you go? Naboo?”

Kylo’s shoulders deflated at her comment and Maz sighed.

“Little Ren, ever the rebel, ever the restless spirit. You came to me fifteen years ago, no clue to your identity and no place to call home. I fed you, I clothed you, I put a roof over your head. And now I’m telling you that Jakku is your best option for survival.”

“But, what about the engraving? What if someone has been waiting for me all these years?” Kylo asked, his thumb brushing over the words that he had put to memory many years ago.

“You don’t know for sure that anyone waits for you in Naboo. Don’t risk your future over a family you haven’t needed for fifteen years,” Maz said with finality, hopping down from the bed and making her way to the door.

“Eat your breakfast, Ren. You’ll need your strength for your journey to Jakku.”

Ren sighed, feeling a bit defeated as he ate the tasteless porridge. Perhaps Maz was right; perhaps no one waited for him. Even so, his heart longed to see the grand city in all its glory. He had always pictured it, dreamt of it.

In his dreams he had always seen the sky as bluer than anything he’d ever seen in real life. Endless valleys of vibrant green stretched across the horrizon further than the eye could see, cut through by grand mountains and hills. A cliffside stood proudly, roaring waterfalls cascading off of the side into a crystal clear river that snaked its way through the valley.

He saw a magnificent Palace stood on the cliffside overlooking the valley with golden walls and emerald green domed rooftops. Further down the cliffside was a huge bustling town of similar design, all green and gold.

If he was lucky enough in his dreams, he could even hear the peaceful sounds of the city, not unruly and loud like the Hostel on Takodana, but calm and civil.

He shook his head as he finished his porridge, setting the tray aside and pulling on his boots. He stood with a wince at the crick in his neck that had become familiar upon waking. Grumbling to himself, he made his way to his already packed dufflebag, hoisting it over his shoulder and making his way out of the Hostel he had called home since he could remember.

With a goodbye to Maz, he walked through the gate, not sparing the place a second look as he left it behind.

He sighed as he walked down the path, approaching the fork in the road that Maz had mentioned a day prior. The sign pointed two ways, one saying ‘Port to Jakku, 20 miles,’ and the other saying ‘Port to Chandrila, 30 miles.’

He considered for only a moment. His brain was telling him that Jakku was the safest option. He could get a job and work hard to survive. But his heart told him to go to Chandrila and live.

He made his decision, squaring his shoulders, taking a step to the left towards Jakku, and immediately tripping, falling into the snow on his hands and knees.

“Ow. Was that some kind of sign?” he joked to no one in particular, standing and trying again to continue in that direction when a tree branch snapped and snow poured down on top of him, into his heavy black coat.

“Ok Ok! I get the message!” he said, raising his hands in surrender and turning to go down the path to Chandrila. As he brushed off his long coat, he hoped to himself that this wouldn’t be a monumental waste of his time.

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is finally up! Thank you for those of you who left a comment! It really made my day!
> 
> Edit:  
> Some changes have been made to this chapter keep some characters more in character.
> 
> Additionally, I apologise for the sheer length of my absence, but I believe I’m getting to the point where I can start posting again. Bare with me please!
> 
> ~Telly


	3. Once Upon a Journey to the Past

Kylo decided he officially hated walking as well as snow. In his opinion, they could both suck an egg. He longed for the much more temperate summer season when the Forrest planet would bloom brilliant green. At least that would’ve made the journey more pleasant. He trudged through the sloshing snow, his boots soaked through after two days of nearly non-stop walking through backwoods, villages, bustling towns. No one could say he wasn’t determined.

He could have cried in relief when he spotted the Port of Takodana. He rushed over, the man standing out front calling out:

“One way ride to Chandrila! One way only, hop aboard!”

Kylo walked up the docking ramp and into the rather small passenger vessel, taking his seat as far away as possible from the very few other people there. He glanced out of the window beside him as the ship took off, watching in wonder as the wild world of Takodana disappeared into the distance, replaced by the star spattered blackness of space.

He yawned, seeming to have underestimated just how tired he was. He closed his eyes for what only felt like a moment.

When next he had opened his eyes, the co-pilot was calling out: “Now touching down to Chandrila docks!”

The rickety ship seemed to rattle as they reached the ground, thumping one last time before hissing to a stop. Kylo approached the doors as they opened, the ramp extending out to the blessedly snow free ground.

As he made his way down, he surveyed his new surroundings, his heart pounding in excitement.

Chandrila was nothing like Takodana, the snow replaced by eternally green grass and the towering trees and thrown together shacks replaced by a beautiful and bustling city.

He walked the streets, his boots squishing wetly against the cobbled path. He pulled his worn trench coat tighter around him, making his way to where the street signs indicated the official docks would be.

Squaring his shoulders and shoving loose tendrils of his dark oily hair that weren’t quite long enough to stay tied up into his cap, he confidently made his way to the ticket booth.

“One ticket to Naboo,” he said. The man behind the booth glanced up at him, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“Passport,” he said boredly, not hiding his distaste at Kylo’s ragged appearance.

“Oh. I don’t have one,” Kylo said, his confidence wavering at the annoyed look from the man.

“No passport, no ticket!” the man shouted before slamming the window of the booth shut. Kylo glared at the closed window, growling and kicking the booth, leaving a sizable dent, before storming away. He’d have to find another way.

………

“Next!” Hux called out, crossing another name off the list. He was beginning to feel rather defeated. He had thought that travelling to Chandrila would give them more choices, but each and every hopeful applicant had been utterly terrible. Some had even gone so far as to draw a multitude of fake freckles and moles on their face, badly mimicking the Prince’s.

“This is hopeless,” he groaned as yet another applicant fell flat. Phasma nodded her agreement, pulling her blaster and aiming it at the man’s feet as he refused to leave the stage without a fair chance. With a shriek, he sprinted off the stage just as Phasma shot the floor a centimetre away from his left foot. She groaned in boredom, calling for the next person.

………

“Shit,” Ren cursed as he missed another opportunity to grasp a passport poking innocently out of the pocket of a passerby. He felt as if he’d been at this for hours, scouting out someone that looked enough like him and making an attempt at pickpocketing, failing each time. He was beginning to get annoyed.

He glanced up at a voice nearby, spotting the source and smiling to himself.

“Do you know where the back entrance of Chandrila Palace is? I have an important meeting,” said a man with curly blonde hair and a face very similar to his to a nearby woman. This man would be his next target and this time, he was determined.

The woman pointed him down an alleyway and Kylo smirked, surreptitiously following him. He stayed a safe distance behind the man as they walked, approaching a door with a sign that read, ‘Applicants Enter Here,’ in large lettering.

Kylo tailed the man as he walked through the door, getting closer and closer. He reached out carefully, hand almost in the pocket of the man’s coat when something caught his attention.

He glanced straight ahead down the corridor, spotting a door. Without thinking, he approached it, walking straight past the door the man had gone through. He glanced around briefly before pulling it open and stepping through.

Before him there was a long and very wide corridor, carpeted a deep red with statues and vases and other objects flanking each side. To his left was what appeared to have once been a grand double staircase, now covered in debris, leading up into darkness.

Kylo ascended the stairs, stepping out into another corridor to see two grand golden doors at the end. He felt a pull to them, moving forward and pushing the doors open.

He stepped out onto a second level overlooking a grandiose golden ballroom, feeling an odd sort of pang in his chest. His eyes swept over the damage and debris, the shattered crystal chandelier in the middle of the floor, the dusty portraits hanging high up on each wall beside huge shattered windows, the crumbling columns surrounding the cavernous room.

As he made his way down one of the grand staircases to a platform on the first level, he began to see images that felt so incredibly real.

The debris and the dust was cleared away, leaving the floor glittering gold, the chandelier intact and hanging from the unbelievably high ceiling. The windows, no longer webbed and broken, let through streams of golden sunlight, making the room seem to glow.

He could see the brilliant red carpeting on the stairs forming as he made his way down the centre staircase, and on the platform leading up to a throne behind him, someone sat regally, someone familiar with kind eyes. She holds him, safe and warm, but not really him; young him. He looks so happy.

He sees figures dancing gracefully across the glittering floor as he steps off of the final stair, so close to him, yet so far away. Everything is stunningly familiar and beautiful. But suddenly the beauty is snuffed out, glittering gold replaced by flashes of fire, a soft waltz replaced with the echo of screams.

Ren shouts as if pained, pressing his palms into his closed eyes. When he opens them, the blur from the pressure wearing off, everything is back to normal and he doesn’t know whether to mourn or celebrate.

He tries to remember those eyes, the warmth, but cannot seem to keep the image in his grasp. He sighs, fingers brushing over the patterned metal surface of his bracelet.

“That was… weird. Now, where did that guy go?” he said aloud to himself, turning to go back the way he came.

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be two chapters, but I decided to post one long chapter as an apology for being gone forever. 
> 
> ~Telly


	4. In Your Dreams

“Uncle, it’s me. Prince Ben,” rasped a rather tall and surprisingly curvaceous man, dropping a large fur coat off of his shoulders to display an odd sort of revealing parody of the sailor suit Prince Ben wore in one of the Organa family portraits.

“Ok. Next!” Hux called out, shooing the man off of the stage with a sigh.

“I don’t know, Armie. I liked that one,” Phasma said, eyes gleaming mischievously.

“Stop it,” Hux shot back, scrunching his nose in disgust.

The two glanced up as the next applicant walked onstage, Hux sitting back with his fingers steepled in front of his chin in consideration.

“Name,” Phasma asked.

“Mattias Angora, but I go by Matt,” the applicant said with very fake looking confidence.

“Wrong. Try again,” Hux snapped, expression unimpressed.

“Oh. I… My name is Prince Ben Organa Amidala,” the man said a bit louder than necessary, trying his best to not make eye contact with Hux.

“When were you born? What is your age?” Phasma asked.

“I-I’m 24. I was born in 4 ABY-“

“Wrong. Are you an idiot?” Hux yelled as he stood. “In 4 ABY, Queen Leia Organa was still only a Princess and was not yet married to Prince Consort Han Solo. Prince Ben Solo Organa Amidala was born in 3282 LY. If you’re a royal, you use the Lothal Calendar. The palace was overtaken in 3290 LY when the Prince was 8 years old. He would be 23 now, you imbecile.

The man looked down, his eyebrow twitching in obvious annoyance.

“Is that all we have listed? Oh well. Auditions are closed for today,” Hux said dismissively, waving the fuming man away. He didn’t flinch when a roar of rage echoed from offstage followed by a loud crash as the man slammed the door shut.

“What was that?” Phasma questioned, crossing her arms. She scoffed at Hux’s innocent look. “He looked almost exactly like the Prince. We could’ve dyed his hair and taught him about the royal family and we would’ve been set!”

Hux shrugged. “I don’t know, Phas. He just seemed wrong for the roll,” he said dismissively.

Phasma looked as if she was going to argue when a crash sounded in the distance, further along into the palace towards where they had set up camp.

Hux and Phasma shared a wide eyed look before they raced to the door, hurrying toward the sound.

………

Ren cursed loudly as the door of the ballroom he was standing in front of fell completely off of its rusted hinges, landing inches away from him with a resounding boom. Clutching at his racing heart, he stumbled back, nearly tripping over a toppled column.

He steadied himself just as a voice called out, echoing through the air.

“Hey! What are you doing in here!” a man yelled as he and a rather tall woman appeared in the doorway. Kylo ran before he could think, hurtling over another grounded column and towards the staircases.

He could hear the man running after him, cursing as he dodged the broken crystal on the floor.

“Hey! Stop! Stop!”

Ren raced up the staircase, stumbling just slightly at the platform before running to the next staircase. He took two steps at a time as the man gained up on him.

“Stop stop stop stop stop!” the man repeated, holding his hands up in a show of peace. Ren skidded to a halt, panting lightly. He kept his eyes to the ground, refusing to look at the man.

“Now. How exactly did you get in he- here…” he trailed off as Kylo glanced up at him. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. The gaze made Kylo exceedingly uncomfortable.

“What,” he snapped challengingly, just as the tall woman made her way up the last few steps to stand beside the red haired man.

“I’m… You just… You look an awful lot like…” he continued to start and stop speaking, shaking his head as if to focus himself before turning to the woman.

“Phasma. Do you see what I see,” he whispered.

The woman in turn let her bright blue eyes wander over Ren before flickering up to something behind him. She nodded approvingly.

“Yes!” she answered, smirking widely.

“See what?” Kylo asked, crossing his arms in utter annoyance as the red haired man approached him, beginning to walk around him, looking him over.

“Why are you circling me? What- Were you a vulture in another life?”

Hux frowned at the comment, opening his mouth to snap back an insult when Phasma shot him a look.

“I apologise for causing you discomfort. It’s just that… you’re perfect,” Hux said, not seeming to notice as Ren’s cheeks became flushed at his words.

“The very image of Prince Organa, down to the freckles,” Hux continued, motioning behind him.

“Oh,” Ren said, turning to see a huge painted portrait of what he supposed to be the royal family. His eyes immediately spotted who they were referencing. He stared in slight surprise as identical eyes to his stared back at him in a much younger face.

“What is your name?” the woman inquired, approaching him much more gently then her companion had.

“My name… is Ren,” he answered, tearing his gaze away from the portrait. “Kylo Ren.”

“Why the hesitation?” Hux questioned.

“Well… That’s the name that was given to me. I can’t remember my real one.”

The two fixed him with expectant looks and he sighed, but continued.

“I was found by the side of the road when I was 8 years old with absolutely no memory of who I was due to a severe concussion. I still don’t quite know who I am…”

The man made a perplexed noise, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth.

“How old are you, Ren?” he asked.

“Um… 23,” he replied, not feeling anymore at ease by the man’s stare then before.

“23 years old with no clue as to who you are?” the woman said, looking almost concerned.

“Well, I do have a clue, sort of. I know that I have to get to Naboo.”

“Naboo you say! Well, what a coincidence, isn’t it, Hux,” the woman beamed, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

The man, Hux, nodded in agreement, stepping forward. “Indeed it is, Phasma! We just so happen to be heading there and, in fact, we have three tickets,” he said, pulling three golden slips of paper out of his inner jacket pocket.

“Really?” Ren said, letting his excitement get the better of him.

“Really. But!” he said, snatching the tickets away from Ren as he reached out to them. “The third one is for him.”

Ren turned as Hux once again motioned to the boy in the painting.

“Prince Ben Solo. We’re reuniting him with his mother in Naboo.”

“Oh,” Ren said in slight disappointment. He held back a gasp when Hux stepped forward.

“You do sort of resemble him,” Hux said, tilting his chin up with two fingers to better look over his face.

“The same dark brown eyes,” Phasma agreed.

“The Amidala eyes,” Hux interjected.

“Prince Consort Han’s smile,” Phasma said as she reached out, touching Ren’s cheek.

“Anakin’s chin,” Hux added with a smirk as Ren’s face began to redden at the attention. He swatted half heartedly at Hux, eyebrows raising as Phasma delicately held his hand in hers, looking over it.

“He even has his grandfather’s hands. Well… hand,” she said.

“He’s the same age, the same physical type,” Hux continued before Ren pulled back, laughing.

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you think that I’m Ben Solo?” Kylo asked incredulously.

“All I’m telling you is that I’ve seen men from all over this planet and not one of them looks as much like the Prince as you do.”

“You’re insane,” Kylo said, shaking his head as he began to walk away.

“Why?” Hux insisted, following behind him. “You don’t remember what happened to you! Nobody knows what happened to him.”

“You’re looking for family in Naboo, and his remaining family is in Naboo,” Phasma cut in.

“I mean, haven’t you ever thought of the possibility?” Hux questioned, leading Ben to stand in front of another portrait, this one of just Queen Leia and Prince Ben.

“That I could be royalty? If you saw how I’ve been living these past fifteen years, you might find that just as funny as me,” Ben scoffed, once again moving away from Hux.

Hux sighed, pulling up his black jacket sleeve and looking at his watch.

“Well If you don’t believe there’s even the slightest chance you could be the Prince then there’s nothing more we can do for you. Good luck getting to Naboo, Ren. Come along Phasma.”

Kylo watched the two walk away, brow scrunching in thought.

He glanced up at the portrait, meeting the identical painted eyes of the young lost Prince. He had to admit that the resemblance was strong.

His eyes drifted up to the face of the woman in the portrait. A kind, proud, and hauntingly familiar face. He felt warm, but not ill; more at ease and comfortable then he’d been in fifteen years.

If there was even the smallest of chances that that woman could be his family, he felt he had to try.

And if it turned out that they were wrong, that still meant free passage to Naboo for him. He really couldn’t see much of a downside.

He knew what his decision was immediately.

“Hux! Wait!”

………


	5. In the Dark of the Knight

_Life._

_Life was all around, flowing through every vein, pumping blood through every artery._

_What a glorious burden._

_Light._

_Light was beginning to reappear._

_Eyes opened and air entered withered lungs._

_Snoke was alive again._

_‘Why?’ was his first thought. Why was he alive after so long rotting in his grave._

_His eyes seemed to focus after a moment, the reflection of a familiar face dancing in the reincarnated depths._

_“Ben Organa. The brat survived?” he rasped to himself, feeling his rage build inside of him._

_Rage._

_It felt good to experience it again. And as he watched the young Skywalker descendant board a ship, so full of life, he knew exactly where to focus that rage._

_Ben Solo would die._

_This time, he would make sure._

………

Ren snapped awake in his seat on the transport ship, his heart racing at the memories from his nightmare. The hollowed face of a familiar monster haunted him every time he closed his eyes as if the image were burned into the backs of his eyelids.

“Are you alright?” a voice inquired, distracting Ren from his thoughts.

“I. Yes. I’m fine,” he replied to Phasma, his rushed answer not seeming to ease her mind.

Hux groaned from beside him, apparently having been woken as well.

“Is his highness having trouble staying asleep?” Hux asked teasingly.

Kylo frowned, kicking at the man’s leg. Hux glared back, moving to retaliate when Phasma intercepted them.

“Cut it out. You’ll draw attention to us,” she hissed admonishingly. Hux continued glowering at Ren, crossing his arms and repositioning himself to try and fall back to sleep.

Ren huffed in frustration, standing and excusing himself. He didn’t quite know where he was going, he just knew that he wanted to get away from Hux.

The man frustrated him to no end. Their personalities clashed horribly, making it so that every single time they were so much as near each other they would begin fighting.

Ren sighed, letting his feet carry him to what appeared to be the entrance to the ship’s cargo hold. He glanced out the window beside the entrance, looking at the ground a mere 40 feet below them. He vaguely wished he hadn’t slept through their brief moment in space after their ship had left Chandrila, but he supposed he’d see it again after they had refuelled at the port of Alderaan.

Kylo was distracted from his thoughts as a voice in the back of his mind pushed through to the forefront. The voice turned his attention back to the cargo hold, compelling him to open the door and walk in.

He surveyed his surroundings, walking through the maze of luggage from the other commuters.

 _‘Why am I here? I shouldn’t be in here,’_ he thought, shaking his head to clear his mind. With one last glance around, he moved to head back to the door when a loud click sounded.

He looked up just in time to see what appeared to be a ghostly hand pulling down a lever on the far wall, opening the bay doors and releasing the first airlock.

Kylo shouted in fear, his hands scrambling to grab at anything they could. He managed to grip onto a support beam, grunting with effort as he held fast. Luggage and boxes of cargo flew past him, dangerously close to hitting him as they were sucked out of the bay doors.

“HELP!”

………

Hux was beginning to get frustrated. Their so-called prince had been gone for more than ten minutes, probably settling in a dark space to brood somewhere on the ship.

“Looking back, we should’ve just taken that Matt idiot,” Hux grumbled, earning a snort from Phasma.

“Nonsense. Ren is the perfect choice. What would benefit us more is if you two would stop butting heads constantly.”

Hux frowned, pulling his coat tighter around him. He was just barely drifting off to sleep again when he heard a far away cry.

“HELP!”

Hux snapped to attention, startled eyes meeting Phasma’s. Without words or even a second thought, the two sprinted toward where the noise had come from, skidding to a stop in front of the door to the ships cargo hold, above which a flashing red sign indicated that the airlock was open.

Phasma wrenched the door open, the two of them holding on to each other as the room seemed to pull them in. Hux glanced around the room, past flying boxes and crates, until he spotted Ren clinging to a support beam.

“Phasma! Over there!” he yelled over the roaring wind, grabbing onto a nearby rail to move towards Ren.

“Ren!” Hux called, taking his belt off and fastening it around his arm. “Ren, grab on!” he said as he held out the other side of the belt.

Ren reached out, his hand shaking with effort to move against the strong rush of air. The second he got a good grip on it, Hux looked to Phasma. She carefully stepped forward, gripping the railing as she reached out for Hux. She grabbed him by the back of his jacket, yanking him and Ren toward the entrance with a grunt.

Ren’s hand shot out to grip the railing, his knuckles turning white. As they moved to open the door, a loud click sounded. Hux stared with wide eyes, watching the locking mechanism click into place in absolute horror.

They turned back toward the open bay doors as another even louder click sounded. Ren cursed loudly in a language Hux didn’t understand as the second airlock opened.

In a rush, they were swept off their feet with the increased rush of vacuumous air, sliding across the debris covered floor. Phasma just managed to grab hold of Hux, who still had a tight hold on Ren, as they flew through the open bay doors and began a free fall.

Ren gasped for breath, hair whipping his face almost painfully as they plummeted toward the ground. He looked down just in time to see the deep blue of water before he was enveloped in it. His entire body stung from the hard contact with the water’s surface.

After he had reoriented himself, he registered the feeling of being pulled by something. When his head broke through the surface of the lake, he coughed the water from his lungs. His eyes met familiar green as he was pulled toward the shore by the belt he still gripped tightly in his hand.

“Hux,” he groaned.

“Idiot,” Hux snapped back.

When they reached the shore, Ren dragged himself onto the rocks, laying down and just breathing.

He was alive.

………

_NO!_

_This would not do._

_He would not allow that brat to escape the same way his ghastly mother had._

_After he had been forsaken by the public by Queen Organa’s influence, he had sworn to himself that he would have his revenge. He was so close he could almost taste it, and yet the young Ben Solo Organa continued to elude him._

_He would have to think of something better;_

_Something more enticing. Something really cruel._

_He would try again, and this time, he would win._

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for my absence! I had a serious case of writers block and considering I’m writing this story to combat my writers block for my Techinician story, that really sucked. 
> 
> ~Telly


	6. Learn to Screw It

“Are we walking all the way to Naboo? My feet are killing me,” Ren groaned.

“No, your Highness,” Phasma stated from behind Ren. “We’re walking to the port of Alderaan. From there, we’ll catch a Cargo Freighter to Corellia, and then a Passenger Ship to Naboo,”

“A Cargo Freighter?” Kylo scoffed.

“Does that bother you, your Grace?” Hux said back, not even turning to look at Ren from his place at the head of the procession.

“Well… yes. I’d rather wait and look for a better option then try and get anywhere in a rusty bucket a bolts Cargo Freighter.”

“Well,” Hux almost hissed, side-eyeing Ren with an exasperated expression. “If someone hadn’t thrown a tantrum and inexplicably gotten us all sucked out of that passenger ship and dropped 40 bloody feet into a freezing lake, we could’ve been in Naboo by now, couldn’t we?”

Ren could feel his face heating up, his fists clenching until his knuckles were white.

“That wasn’t my fault!” he snapped, only getting angrier when Hux snorted derisively, turning to face him with a sneer.

“Oh! I’d forgotten! It was the magical ghost hand that pulled the lever, not you. So sorry for the confusion, your Highness,” Hux shot back, bowing deeply with a mocking flourish.

“Boys,” Phasma warned, stepping in between the two fuming men. Hux huffed, adjusting his grey vest and brushing off the imaginary wrinkles from the long sleeves of his black undershirt.

Without another glance between them, they walked on, Hux more tense than before.

“You know, Ren,” Phasma said, quickly and easily changing the subject. “I really think you’ll enjoy Naboo. I know I certainly will, but of course, I have ulterior motives,” she continued with a smirk, nudging Kylo’s arm.

“You always have ulterior motives, Phas,” Hux called back, his shoulders relaxing a bit. Phasma let out a laugh, picking up a stick from the ground and throwing it half heartedly at Hux’s back.

Kylo smiled slightly, feeling his sour mood slip away at the easy banter. He glanced up as Phasma plucked a light blue flower from a nearby bush, beginning to dance with it.

“Rey, my darling. Oh I can’t wait to see you again. It’s only a matter of time,” Phasma said dramatically, pressing the flower to her cheek.

“Phas. Will you stop-“ Hux started, turning back to Phasma with an annoyed and even slightly anxious expression when Phasma suddenly grabbed him, dragging him along with her in her impromptu waltz.

“More beautiful, more radiant than a summer's day. My dearest, I shall see you soon,” Phasma sang out, twirling a struggling Hux before dipping him. Ren grinned at the sight, holding back a laugh as Phasma released her hold on Hux and he fell to the ground.

“Who is Rey?” Ren inquired as Phasma danced about, oblivious to Hux’s shushing and silent pleading as he pushed himself up.

“The most beautiful desert flower, the adopted daughter of Queen Leia,” Phasma announced, Hux wincing as he looked to Ren.

“But… I thought we were going to see my Uncle. Why are we going to see this Rey woman?” Ren asked before it seemed to click in his head, turning to Hux with an icy expression.

“Hux,” he said with a glare, advancing on the slighter man.

“It’s just a little test to see if you’re the real Prince,” Hux explained quickly, throwing his hands up defensively. “Everyone that wishes to meet Skywalker must go through Rey.”

“You never said I had to prove that I was Ben Solo! This is ridiculous!” Ren snapped, dragging his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Oh come now. It’ll be easy,” Hux tried, not quite sounding as convincing as he had hoped.

“Then why don’t you do it?” Ren grumbled, shaking his head and storming off towards the bridge over the nearby stream. Hux moved to follow but Phasma held her hand up, motioning for him to stay.

She approached him carefully, standing beside him as he leaned over the railing, chin buried in his arms.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. We should have, we were just concerned that it would scare you,” Phasma said.

Ren snorted shortly, gazing down into the glassy surface of the water below.

“You were right. I mean… just look at me. I’m not exactly Prince material, here.”

“I don’t know what you mean. You are charismatic, handsome, and regal in the oddest way. You underestimate yourself, but I fully believe that you can pull this off; with some of my expert guidance, of course.”

Ren’s eyes met Phasma’s and he smiled earnestly. With a resigned sigh, he straightened his posture and turned fully to her.

“… Alright. I’m ready. Show me how to be a Prince.”

………

“Ok so, my uncle, Fluke Starbucker, is a high priest or something, my father is the Prince Consort, and my mother is Queen Leia?”

Hux rubbed his temples, breathing in deeply. “No, Ren. Your Uncle’s name is Luke Skywalker,” he said, his voice strained.

“Otherwise it was perfect,” Phasma cut in, placing a calming hand on Hux’s shoulder.

“Luke Skywalker,” Ren repeated thoughtfully. “Didn’t… didn’t he have a little blue and white droid? Artoo Eetoo or something?”

Hux and Phasma stopped abruptly, turning to look at Ren with matching expressions of surprise.

“Erm. Yes. R2D2,” Phasma answered shortly, looking to Hux and raising her eyebrows.

“Maybe he read it somewhere?” Hux mouthed, ignoring Phasma’s insistent gaze and turning back to Ren.

“… Erm… Alright. Moving on to your grandmother, Queen Padme Amidala.”

………

_“C’mon R2!” a brown haired little girl called out, running through a lush green field. Her fluffy dress, a pale green with white ribbons, seemed to shimmer in the sunlight._

_Behind her, a droid rolled along through the field, beeping happily as it chased her._

_“Ben! You’re the First Order!” the girl yelled teasingly. “You can’t catch me!”_

_Ren watched himself move, a younger version of himself beginning to run after them. The girl squealed excitedly, hurrying her pace toward what looked to be a cliff with a cloaked figure standing at the edge._

_“Master! Master help me!” the little girl laughed, reaching up to the figure and grabbing onto his cloak with tiny hands._

_“On no! It’s the Order coming to get you. Don’t worry, my child. I will protect you,” the man with greying blonde hair said with a playful smile, pulling a wooden sword from inside his cloak and turning to face Ren._

_“If you want Lady Rey, you shall have to go through me.”_

_His younger self answered by determinedly pulling out a similar play sword with a huge grin and preparing to attack when a loud bang sounded._

_“No!” screamed the little girl as the ground crumbled beneath her and she fell. The man turned horrified blue eyes to him before similarly falling into the black abyss beneath with one last panicked call of: “BEN!”_

_A raspy voice echoed through his mind as his younger self fell to his knees and cried._

_“I will not rest until I see the end of the Skywalker Organa line forever!”_

………

“Ren!” Hux shouted, jumping back when Ren seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in.

“What?” he said dumbly, looking around with wide eyes.

“As I was saying,” Hux ground out, glaring annoyedly. “We’ve reached the outer villages of Alderaan. The port shouldn’t be far.”

Ren glanced around, his vision focusing and unfocusing briefly before everything became clear again. His head hurt horribly, but he tried to shake off the pain.

“Are you alright, Ren?” Phasma asked softly, placing a hand on his back.

“I- Yeah. I just had a… moment,” Ren finished lamely, unable to remember anything from his odd vision but terrified brown eyes.

The group made their way through the lower towns, Ren taking in his surroundings in wonder. Everything was so green and beautiful. Towering mountains encircled the area, the peaks topped with fluffy white snow and half hidden by pure white clouds. The air was crisp and clean, and strange birds sang unfamiliar pretty songs from their perches in the tall trees.

Before them, tucked neatly in the valley surrounded by the mountains was a shimmering silver city with impossibly tall buildings. Rivers and lakes wove their way through the city, natural and undisturbed by the surrounding civilisation.

“This place is amazing,” Ren breathed.

“Yes. Beautiful. Let’s move on,” Hux snapped, quickening his pace toward what looked to be a gigantic port.

“Don’t mind him,” Phasma said, motioning for Ren to walk beside her. “He gets nervous in new places.”

“Why?” Ren questioned, eyes finding Hux a short distance ahead of them. His back was tense, his posture straight as a rod.

“That’s a question better answered by him than me. All I can say is that it’s something to do with his childhood.”

They reached the port in a mostly comfortable silence. Phasma excused herself from the group to go into a shop. Left alone with Hux, Ren began to fidget uncomfortably, wringing his hands. The two both seemed to relax as Phasma returned with a large bag and they moved on towards the docks.

Hux approached a shorter dark haired man standing just outside of a particularly rickety looking ship. Ren felt an odd pull to it, but he ignored it.

The two spoke briefly before Hux pulled out what looked to be a datapad and started typing. The man raised his eyebrows at something Hux had done and motioned for Hux to go aboard.

Ren and Phasma followed behind, Phasma catching Hux by the elbow.

“What did you give him?” she asked quietly.

“Just 300 credits. He looked like he’d never seen that much before,” Hux answered with a shrug. Phasma frowned.

“Did He say how long it would take to get to Corellia?”

“Actually, he’s taking us straight to Naboo. He told me he was already heading there in the first place,” Hux said with a shrug.

“That’s quite a coincidence,” Ren said, leading the way to the main hold and sitting down casually on a tattered couch. The texture immediately felt familiar. He rubbed his hands over the upholstery and in his mind, the very blurry face of a man appeared. He couldn’t make out any of the features, but he remembered the safe and warm feeling he had felt near this man.

“Ren!” Hux snapped.

Kylo shook his head, realising that Hux must have been calling him while he was spaced out. The other man rolled his eyes.

“Do you ever listen?” he said bitingly. Ren frowned, turning to face him completely.

“Not to you,” he replied. Hux looked as if he was going to retaliate but Phasma cleared her throat just in time.

“Ren, I have something for you. I thought maybe it would help you get into the mindset of being a Prince. Would you come with me?” Phasma said with a smile.

Ren sighed, all of the tension flowing from him with Phasma’s diversion.

“Alright,” he agreed, allowing Phasma to lead him away with one final glance at Hux.

………


	7. Let Them Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two month hiatus. I hope you guys haven’t given up on this story because I certainly haven’t!

Hux tapped his finger impatiently against his knee, frustration creeping into his thoughts. Ren and Phasma had been gone for more than 20 minutes. What could she possibly have for him that takes nearly half an hour?

Before he could continue on that particular train of thought, Phasma stepped back into the main hold, clearing her throat with a smirk.

“Presenting his royal Highness, Prince Ben Solo Organa Amidala,” she said, motioning to the doorway.

Hux’s brain stuttered to a halt, his complaints dying on his tongue as he took in what he saw before him.

Ren’s ragged oversized clothes had been replaced by a well fitted deep blue suit that hugged his body in a way that had Hux feeling utterly confused. His hair, typically an utter natted mess on the top of his head, was detangled and shiny, the curls just barely brushing his shoulders, and he had a smile on his face that Hux had never seen before.

Hux stood from his seat, approaching Ren slowly.

“I know it isn’t the most regal, but it was what I could afford. I thought since Ren would be attending balls and parties and such, perhaps he should brush up on his dancing,” Phasma said with a grin.

Hux nodded his agreement, clearing his throat. “Yes. A very good idea, Phasma.”

Ren glanced over to Hux expectantly, holding out his hand.

Hux flushed at the gesture. “Wha- me? No, you’ll be dancing with women, more than likely. I’m sure that Phas-“

“Oh no, Armie, I’m afraid I’ve quite forgotten the steps to many of the court dances. You’ll have to take my place.”

Before Hux could argue, Phasma pulled him forward by the arm, taking his hand and placing it in Ren’s.

Hux forced his expression to stay as neutral as possible, placing his hand on Ren’s shoulder hesitantly. Ren watched him closely, mirroring his actions by placing his own hand on Hux’s shoulder.

“No, darling. The lead places their hand here,” Phasma corrected gently, taking Ren’s hand and moving it to Hux’s waist.

Their eyes met and Hux held his breath.

“There. Perfect,” she said with a smirk.

“Ahem,” Hux coughed. “So the steps of a waltz are simple enough to learn.”

………

Ren yawned loudly as the pilot lead them toward the guest quarters.

Dancing with Hux had taken a surprising amount of energy and he was absolutely ready to go to sleep.

He tried not to think about Hux’s clear green eyes first squinting in concentration then widening and revealing his excitement as Ren began to pick up the lesson. He also tried not to think about how it felt to be pressed up against Hux’s slim frame.

“Alright. Here’s where you’ll be staying. We should reach Naboo by tomorrow so rest well,” the pilot announced, opening a door and motioning for them to enter.

“Thank you, Captain Dameron,” Phasma said with a smile before gently closing the door behind them.

Ren smiled as Phasma dug in her bag, pulling out a long shirt and pants for him to sleep in. He nodded his thanks, happy at the thought of not having to sleep in his musty old clothes. He stepped into the adjacent bathroom, changing quickly before walking back out and flopping onto his back on the creaky lower bunk.

“Are you ready to see Naboo, Ren?” Phasma inquired from her spot on the top bunk, leaning down to look at him.

“I’m ready to sleep,” he answered with a tired grin.

“That's something we can agree on,” Hux replied, laying on the makeshift cot on the ground across from Ren.

“Goodnight,” Phasma said as she twisted the knob on the lamp, the fire inside dimming before dying, leaving the cabin in darkness.

Ren curled up, pulling the blanket over him. He was asleep before he knew it.

………

_“Kid? Hey, kid! C’mere!” called a strikingly familiar voice. Kylo watched as his younger self hopped down from the ugly orange upholstered chair, hurrying from the main hold toward the cockpit._

_A man smiled at him, reaching down and picking him up. He had dark brown eyes hooded by a heavy brow, brown hair, tan skin, and a pearly white smile._

_“There he is, my little copilot,” the man said with a smirk as he set him down in the copilots chair._

_“He really is a natural. Must’ve gotten that from you,” said a woman from behind him. Ren couldn’t see her, but her voice put him at ease. He turned to look at the man, but he seemed to vanish out of thin air._

_Ren glanced around the cockpit. He was alone now and the entire place was a bit darker than before. He began to panic when he heard a voice calling him from somewhere further back in the ship._

_He raced as fast as his little legs could take him, winding down the corridor and taking shortcuts through hidden panels in the walls until he reached the cargo hold. He spotted the familiar figure of the man from before standing with his back turned to him._

_He hurried up to the figure, reaching up towards his hand but pausing as the hand began to wrinkle and thin out. He glanced up to see the uneven decrepit face of the familiar monster. He screamed, trying to run away when flames sprouted up around him and the monstrous man, boxing him in._

_The man let out a bloodcurdling laugh, the sound ringing in Ren’s head like funereal bells._

_“A Prince?” he scoffed, holding out a hand and grabbing Ren with an invisible grasp. “Please. You’re no more than the son of a greasy smuggler. That you could amount to anything else is laughable.”_

_Ren screamed as the fire began to close in, enveloping the man though his laughter echoed still. He looked around desperately, racing through an opening in the fire to the large bay doors; his only means of escape._

_“You can try all you like, child. You shall never escape the Skywalker curse.”_

_He reached out a small hand toward the lever that would open the doors, his movements slow as if he were trapped in molasses. Just a little further…_

………

Hux snapped awake with the feeling that something was terribly wrong. He glanced up to Phasma who was fast asleep in her bunk. He relaxed minutely before looking to Ren’s bunk, his heart stopping when he saw that it was empty.

“Ren?” he whispered, hopeful that he would simply be in the restroom. He stood quickly when he heard no reply, walking to the open door and peeking into the corridor.

“Ren?” he called, answered only by the echo of his own voice. He looked both ways, trying to guess which way Ren had gone when a distant scream sounded. Without hesitation, Hux raced towards it. His heart pounded fiercely in his ears as he approached what seemed to be the cargo hold of the ship. He struggled to open the door, the button jamming before finally clicking into place.

He went cold when he spotted Ren standing before the bay doors, his hand on the lever that would open them and send him hurtling into open space.

“Ren!” he screamed as a sprinted toward him, grabbing his arm. Ren struggled against his hold, but Hux held fast, managing to grab him fully and yank him away from the door.

“No!” Ren cried deliriously, fighting his grip with shocking strength. Hux grabbed his shoulders, shaking him frantically.

“Ren! Ren, please wake up! Wake up!” he cried.

………

_Ren thrashed violently against the invisible force restraining him. His skin was burning as the fire came closer and closer. Try as he might, he couldn’t escape. He began to cry, fighting with all he had left when a voice broke through the fog in his mind._

_“Ren… Ren, please wake up… Wake up…”_

_“Hux?” was his last thought before his vision went black._

_~_

Ren gasped for air as he snapped awake, his vision blurred with tears. His eyes focused on a face very close to his own and he surged forward, wrapping his arms around a warm body and holding tightly.

“Hux,” he breathed, his entire body shaking.

“It’s ok. I’m here,” Hux replied softly, allowing him to curl in closer. Ren pulled back after a moment, looking into his eyes with a frantic expression.

“Hux, the Skywalker curse. The curse-“ he cried. Hux moved forward, shushing him and pulling him into his arms once again. Ren sniffled, resolving to just sit there for a while, his wet face pressed into the soft material of Hux’s nightshirt where he felt surprisingly safe.

He was sure he could stay like that forever.

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry for the long pause in updates. I hope to not have another writers block episode like that. 
> 
> Also I’ve “rebranded” a bit. My tumblr and my instagram have also switched names. If you wish to find me on either, just search CynicalPudding and you should find me. 
> 
> ~Cynical  
> (And a new signature. Everything is different!)


	8. Naboo Holds the Key

Hux breathed in the fresh air as he stepped down the ramp, Ren and Phasma close behind. His nerves were going haywire, but he tried his best to keep them in check. He heard Phasma thanking Captain Dameron, but his eyes were locked onto Ren who was looking around with wide-eyed wonder. 

_ “The Skywalker Curse,” _ he had said after his nightmare episode. Hux hadn’t been able to shake that as he sat there in the cargo hold, holding Ren for what had to be hours. 

Even now he still had those words echoing through his mind. They seemed almost like a distant memory. 

Hux could see the ballroom of Chandrila palace, intact as it had been on that fateful night fifteen years ago. He had been a child of 13, allowed by his father, a Lord in Arkanis, to visit his true mother, a servant in the palace kitchen, for the first time in ten years. 

He had watched with his own eyes as the man known as Snoke entered the grand ballroom. His voice still lingered in Hux’s thoughts. 

_ “I place a curse on your name, and all who carry it, Skywalker. Mark my words. You and your family will die within a fortnight. I will not rest until I see the end of the Skywalker Organa line forever!” _

Hux glanced over to Kylo. How had he heard of the Skywalker curse unless…

“It’s exactly the way I imagined it,” Kylo breathed, tearing Hux from his thoughts. Hux followed his gaze to the palace of Naboo, standing picturesque as ever on top of the cliff. 

“It is quite beautiful,” Hux admitted, unable to stop looking at Ren. It was as if his mind was searching for something it hadn’t seen before, but no matter how hard he tried he simply couldn’t figure it out. 

“The valley, the mountains, the cliff, even the green domes on the golden buildings. Everything is the same as it was in my dreams,” Ren continued, his smile growing. 

Before Hux could question his words, Phasma stepped forward, wrapping her arms around their shoulders. 

“Well, we’ve no time to waste. Let’s get you to Rey!” she exclaimed, guiding them away from the port and into the bustling golden city. 

Hux occasionally snuck glances at Ren, but the other man was too wrapped up in the scenery around them to notice. He looked enamoured, his eyes, still red-rimmed from the other night, flitted from person to impeccably dressed person. 

Everyone they passed seemed to stop and look back at Kylo, almost as if they recognised him. By the time they reached Rey’s door, the entire town buzzed with excited whispers. Had their prince truly come home?

“We really did choose a fantastic lookalike,” Phasma whispered to Hux, answered by a nod as Hux looked around at the excited civilians. 

Phasma knocked on the ornate door of Rey’s home just adjacent to the Palace, waiting very impatiently. 

The door opened a bit to reveal a young man with dark skin, almost black eyes, and a fetching smile dressed in rich purple clothes.

“Captain Phasma,” he greeted. 

Phasma smiled genuinely in response. 

“Sir Finn. Is Lady Rey home?” she asked, not able to or simply not attempting to hide her excitement. 

“She is. Let me get her for you,” he said with a smile, closing the door. They waited in anticipation for only a moment when the door swung open and a rather short woman with light brown hair grinned up at Phasma. 

“Phas!” she said in greeting, her brown eyes shining. 

“Rey, my darling,” Phasma said as she bent down to kiss the shorter woman’s hand, moving up her arm and eliciting a giggle from her. 

“Phasma,” Hux said in a gently reprimanding tone, motioning to Kylo. 

“Ah yes. Erm, Lady Rey Skywalker, meet Prince Ben Organa,” Phasma announced, pulling Ren forward slightly. He nodded politely to Rey as she regarded him. 

“Oh, I see. Come inside,” Rey said suddenly rather seriously, allowing them in. Hux patted Ren’s shoulder with only a second of hesitation as they stepped into the parlour, the other man nodding his thanks at the gesture. 

“Well… I must say, this is the first one that truly looks like Ben. Where did you find him?” Rey asked, circling around Kylo like a hawk. 

“Funnily enough, we found him in the Palace of Chandrila,” Phasma admitted. Rey raised her eyebrow, stopping to stand in front of Kylo. 

“The Palace of Chandrila? And what were you doing there?”

Kylo took pause, thinking back to that day. He couldn’t possibly tell her he had followed a man there to try and steal his passport. He cleared his throat almost nervously under her scrutiny. 

“I don’t know. I felt drawn there,” he said truthfully. 

“He has no memory of his life before he was eight years old,” Hux chimed in to take some pressure off of Ren. 

“Is that so?” Rey asked, her eyebrows shooting up further toward her hairline. 

“Yes. I was found only a few miles from the palace. I had suffered head trauma. The woman that found me took me to her Hostel on Takodana where she let me stay for fifteen years.”

“Remarkable. How old are you?”

“23,” he responded automatically. 

“What year were you born in?” Rey continued. 

“3282 LY.”

“Very good. Hmm…” Rey paused, seeming to mull over the next question she would ask. 

“How do you take your tea?” she asked with a suspicious look. 

“I don’t like tea. It’s just leaves and hot water,” Kylo replied. Rey smiled widely at him, motioning for him to sit. 

“What is your favourite colour?”

Ren pauses at the odd question, wrinkling his brow in thought. “I… I don’t know. Purple?”

Rey’s smile broadened at his answer. 

“Wonderful. Now, if you can remember, how did you escape from the palace during the attack?”

Hux paled at the question. He hadn’t told Kylo how to answer that. He hadn’t told anyone what he did for the Prince and the Queen. It had been chance that he even found them, having heard the young Prince yelling from the servants entrance. He remembered the fear he felt as he ushered the Prince and the Queen through the passage, closing it behind them as Snoke’s soldiers charged in. 

Hux reached into his pocket, wrapping his fingers around the everpresent blue stone. It had belonged to the Prince who dropped it in his escape. Hux had taken it when he woke up in the ruins of the palace. He had never figured out why he had decided to pick it up, but he never went anywhere without its familiar weight in his pocket. 

He looked to Ren who seemed to be concentrating on the question. He couldn’t keep in the urge to bury his face in his hands when Ren started speaking. 

“There was a boy. A boy who I’d never seen before. He… opened a wall…” Ren said softly before shaking his head. “I’m sorry. That’s insane. Walls opening.”

Hux raised his head, turning to look at Ren. He felt as if all of the air had left his body. He stepped back, replaying the words in his head over and over as he heard Phasma congratulating Ren. 

_ ‘My God,’ _ he thought as he quietly retreated into the garden.

He needed some air badly. 

Phasma seemed to notice his exit almost immediately, politely excusing herself and hurrying out to the garden. She raced to Hux, picking him up easily from behind and spinning him.

“Armie! We did it! We’re going to see Skywalker tomorrow! We’re going to get the 100,000,000 nova crystals! We’re going to be-“

“Phas! Phas,” Hux interrupted, tapping her arm. Phasma, sensing Hux’s serious tone, set him down immediately, looking confused at his lack of celebration. 

“Phasma, he is the Prince,” he said quietly. 

“I know! He did marvelously, didn’t he! Even I was convinced!”

“No, Phas. He is the Prince,” Hux said more firmly, grabbing her by the shoulders. He jumped away when Kylo and Rey entered the garden as well. 

“Your meeting with my Uncle has been arranged for tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, I’d like to take you all out to see Naboo. They say the city itself holds the key to the heart,” Rey said with a wide grin, taking Phasma’s arm. 

“A wonderful idea! Let us be off,” Phasma said excitedly, wrapping an arm around Hux’s shoulders as Rey took Kylo’s arm with her free hand. 

Hux looked to Kylo, not prepared for his gaze to be met by smiling dark brown eyes. He turned away, gulping slightly. 

What had he gotten himself into.

………

Ren felt as if his whole world was spinning. He didn’t know whether to be excited or terrified that he was finally meeting Luke Skywalker. He felt off about the entire thing, but he wasn’t given long to think about it as Rey was dragging him all over Naboo, getting him to try on increasingly nice clothes and having his hair tended to by a particularly expensive barber. 

He had insisted on keeping his length, so the man tended to his split ends and knots that he had never truly been able to brush through. When he saw himself, he was unrecognisable. The layer of dirt clinging to him was now gone, leaving his skin noticeably lighter. His hair was pitch black, shinier and healthier than he could ever remember seeing it.

He had been put in a fitted deep black suit with red silk lining. He looked down at his shoes, seeing his reflection in them. The entire ensemble felt almost like a costume, but he couldn’t find it in him to object. 

Phasma and Rey had both changed into quite lovely dresses, Phasma’s rather simple and pure white with a red rose attached over her left breast, Rey’s a pale green with fringe at the sleeves and on the bottom. 

Ren’s smile faltered however when he spotted Hux standing tall in his new suit. He cut a handsome figure in the fitted dark blue suit with black and red accents. Ren’s mouth felt dry as Hux turned to face him. He gave Ren an almost concerned look and Ren quickly turned away. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he silently hoped Hux couldn’t tell. 

The tension was quickly replaced with excitement when Rey called out for a carriage and motioned for them all to get in. She pulled him in first, taking a seat beside him as Phasma and Hux sat across from them. 

Their afternoon was more than pleasant, Rey showing them the sights. The city really did feel magical somehow, but he couldn’t help but think of that nightmare he’d had onboard the ship. He had tried to distract himself with the vibrancy of the city, but it pulled at his thoughts, demanding attention. It had felt so real at first, the man and the woman so incredibly familiar.

The carriage pulled to a stop and Rey got out, the smile on her face blinding. Ren stepped out carefully, followed by Hux and Phasma. Without a word, Rey excitedly led them into what looked to be a restaurant. The Matre D approached her, kissing her cheek in greeting.

“My Lady Rey, your usual table?” he inquired as a server stepped forward, bowing his head reverently. 

“Yes, I believe that will do,” she said, taking out a few credits and handing them to the server who grinned thankfully at her. A few people came forward to take their coats, Hux politely refusing to part with his, before their server lead them to a table in the middle of the restaurant. 

A band played their golden instruments on the stage as couples swayed to the dulcet tones on the dance floor just in front of their table and Ren couldn’t help but stare in wonder as they twirled. 

Phasma cleared her throat, capturing Ren’s attention. She stood before him and bowed her head. 

“Your Highness. Would you care to dance?” she asked with a cheeky smirk. 

Ren returned the expression, standing and taking her hand. They made their way to the middle of the dance floor, Phasma placing her hand on his shoulder as he placed his own respectfully over her waist. 

“I thought you said you’d forgotten how to dance?” Ren said as they began to step in time with the waltz. 

“I lied,” Phasma replied easily, her smile growing. “But you looked so good with Armie I thought you wouldn’t mind.”

Ren realised too late that his mouth was hanging open, snapping it shut as heat rose to his cheeks. 

The rest of their dance was silent, Phasma seeming to bask in Ren’s embarrassment. 

When the song ended, Ren and Phasma bowed to each other and made their way back over to the table. Ren looked to Hux, surprised to see Hux’s eyes flicker from his bracelet to his eyes and then away. 

“What a day this has been,” Rey exclaimed, her smile blindingly bright as she reached out, placing her hand over Ren’s. 

“I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. I’m endlessly thankful that you were brought back home to us.” 

Kylo ducked his head down just slightly, uncomfortable under her kind gaze, Rey not seeming to notice as she turned to Hux. 

“We need to make arrangements. Would you mind stepping outside to talk?”

Hux nodded his agreement, sparing one last glance at Ren before following Rey through the crowd. 

“Arrangements?” Kylo inquired, glancing at Phasma questioningly. The woman seemed to hesitate for a second, her expression quickly evening out once more. 

“Probably just planning out your meeting with your Uncle,” she said easily. 

Ren settled into his seat a bit more comfortably, continuing his observance of the figures dancing gracefully across the floor. 

His mind filled with memories of the past few days with Hux and Phasma. The former had started off as such an annoyance to him, constantly telling him what to do, snapping at him, insulting him. He realised with no small amount of shock that that had changed entirely. He no longer saw Hux as an aggravation, but as a comfortable and safe presence. 

His cheeks flushed at that thought, catching Phasma’s interest. Before she could say anything he stood abruptly.

“I… I have to find Hux,” he stammered out, ignoring Phasma’s grin and hurrying off in the direction Hux and Rey had gone not five minutes ago. 

When he reached the outside of the restaurant, he searched for only a moment before spotting the familiar neat red hair. He made his way over anxiously, his heart pounding at even the prospect of what he was about to admit. 

Before he reached them completely, he picked up on their conversation and stopped short. 

“This better not be another one of your scams, Armitage Hux. Don’t think I hadn’t heard about your holding auditions for a Prince Organa lookalike.”

“No, my lady. He is the genuine article. I can prove it.”

“Very well. When my uncle meets him tomorrow, if you can totally confirm that he is truly Ben, the Nova Crystals will be transferred to your account and you three will be taken to meet with the Queen,” Rey stated. 

“The whole 100,000,000 Niva Crystals?” Hux questioned rather insistently, seeming pacified at Rey’s nod. They shook hands and Kylo felt utterly numb. 

He stumbled back slightly, making his way back into the restaurant and to their table while keeping his face as blank as possible. If Phasma noticed the change in his mood she didn’t comment. 

Kylo was glad of it. He had a lot to think about. 

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the extended absences! We have lots of stories in the works right now. This one has only a few chapters left to go before it’s wrapped up!
> 
> ~Cynical  
> (Another rebranding. Don’t mind me.)


	9. Crossing the Bridge

Hux yawned as he sat down on the plush bed he was assigned by Rey. He was overly aware of Ren’s presence in the adjoining room, the double doors left cracked open. He found that he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the thought that after so many year he had finally truly found the lost Prince. 

He could recall first seeing the young Prince during his visit to the palace. Hux himself had been completely inconspicuous, having traded his finely crafted clothes fit for the son of a Lord for servants rags that matched his Mother’s. 

He had watched the Prince pass by on an exquisite dark brown horse, flanked on either side by his Uncle and his Father. Hux remembered thinking how regal the boy looked, how innocent and sweet. Now there lingered such a sad love deep in his eyes, a feeling of loss and pain and suffering. Hux silently wished that he could take that pain away. 

He snapped out of his memories at the sound of the doors joining his and Ren’s room creaking shut. He took a deep breath, shaking his head at his ridiculous train of thought. 

Thinking about what could never be would do him no good. Ren would soon be reunited with his family and Hux himself would no longer be needed. 

He tried his best to ignore the pain that thought had brought him, laying in the unbelievably soft bed and resigning himself to sleep. 

………

It couldn’t have been much later after he fell asleep when he snapped awake with the feeling that something was amiss. He blinked confusedly as he heard the unmistakable sound of a door creaking open. 

“Ren? What are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night,” Hux groaned, rolling over to look at the other man in the doorway sleepily. He wrinkled his nose in confusion, seeing that the other man was wearing his own old battered trousers, a tight fit on his larger frame.    
“I…” Ren started, swallowing nervously. “I’m leaving. I’m going to find Captain Dameron and ask him to take me back to Alderaan.”   
  
The words washed over Hux like an ice bath and he was immediately awake.    
  
“Leaving? But… but what about tomorrow? The meeting with your uncle and-“   
  
“He’s not my uncle and Queen Leia is not my mother,” Ren snapped, his fists clenched as he looked at Hux with bleary eyes. Hux realised he was in his old tattered clothes, the ones they had found him in.    
  


“But they are. You are the Prince, Ren. How can you be so certain that you aren’t when you haven’t even met Skywalker?” Hux shot back, standing and taking a step toward Ren.    
  
“Hux, I remembered,” Ren said as tears began to fall down his face.    
  
“I remembered that ship. It was a YT-1300 Corellian Light Freighter, a ship commonly used by smugglers. I remembered being on a ship exactly like that one, learning to pilot it and repair it and searching for secret compartments. Tell me, why would a Prince know the ins and outs of a smuggler ship.”   
  
Hux opened his mouth to retaliate but couldn’t quite get anything out. He felt as if all the air had been knocked out of him.    
  
“I was the child of smugglers, it’s as simple as that. It was crazy to even dream for a moment that I could’ve been royalty.”   
  
“So,” Hux breathed, trying to keep himself calm. “So after everything we’ve gone through, you’re just leaving? What if you’re wrong? What if this is all a strange coincidence and you’re just giving up your chance to finally be happy? Don’t you want to have a home? Don’t you want to find your family?!”   
  
“My family abandoned me!” Ren screamed, breath ragged and hands shaking.    
  
Hux watched in silent shock as the other man shook his head and turned away, his old coat swishing as he moved toward the door.    
  
“Ren, please,” he whispered, but Ren ignored him, pushing open the door and walking away. 

Hux could only stand there, numb as he distantly heard the click of the front door opening and closing. 

He was gone.

………

Ren wandered around the silent lower town, the moon bright and high to light his way. His heart pounded in his chest, remembering the look of shock on Hux’s face when he’d left. 

It had taken all of his strength to go, wanting nothing more than to stay close to Hux and his cynicism and safety. But he knew now that he had a different path, that he couldn’t stay with the man trying to use him to con the royal family. 

He pushed thoughts of Hux from his mind, making his way towards the docks and feeling a sort of melancholic relief when he spotted the pilot Poe Dameron speaking with someone vaguely familiar.

On closer inspection, the other person appeared to be the man that had answered the door at Rey’s house, her friend Finn. 

Poe glanced up at Ren as he approached, smiling and waving in greeting. 

“Hey! Ren, right?” he asked. 

Ren nodded, coming to a stop in front of the two. 

“Listen, I know it’s the middle of the night, but I need to get to Alderaan as fast as possible.”

Poe’s jovial expression dropped at the seriousness in Kylo’s tone. 

“I see. And will your friends be joining you?”

Kylo wordlessly shook his head, feeling his heart clench. 

“Very well. Climb aboard. We leave first thing in the morning.”

Kylo nodded, feeling that same sense of relief tinged with sadness as he followed Poe to the ship, the Corellian Freighter that felt so incredibly familiar.

Poe called out his farewell to Finn, the other man waving as he walked back toward presumably his own house. Kylo took one last look over Naboo, the place of his dreams. His fingers rubbed subconsciously over the inscription on his bracelet and he was hit with regret as the door slowly closed before him. 

He’d be in Alderaan in two days time. There was no going back now.

Kylo walked with heavy footsteps to the cabin he had stayed in only a few nights ago, looking to the cot on the floor beside the bunk-beds where Hux had slept. With a sigh he flopped onto the bottom bunk, staring at the wall and feeling numb. 

His fingers ran over the seam of the borrowed, no, stolen trousers he wore, put on in his haste to leave before he could change his mind. He stopped at the pocket, feeling a solid circular bump. He reached in hesitantly, hoping he hadn’t taken something far more precious than a pair of trousers from Hux. His fingers brushed something slightly cold and smooth, some sort of stone.

He pulled it from the pocket, opening his hand to look at it and choked on his rapid intake of breath. The stone was small and blue with swirls of white like clouds in the sky.

Without thinking, as if his brain were on autopilot, he slipped the blue stone between the crisscross of metal over the empty socket in his bracelet. It clicked into place and all at once his mind was filled with faces and sounds; with memories. 

He saw the ballroom of Chandrila palace, glittering gold and intact. He saw the figures dancing across the floor, the feeling of absolute euphoria floating through the air.

He saw the now clear face of his mother, Queen Leia, sitting regally on her throne as he danced with his adopted baby sister, Rey. He saw his father, Han Solo, still dressed in his messy work clothes from his latest mission smuggling supplies to the rebels on D’Qar, being reprimanded by his mother for arriving at the ball looking like a nerf herder. 

He saw his Uncle standing vigilant in the corner of the ballroom with his trusted lightsaber at his side, ready for any attack that came his way. 

He saw the darkness that had filled the ballroom when Snoke had come in, proclaiming the death of his family; the Skywalker Curse. The fear in his Father’s eyes had shaken him to the core. He could still hear the mantra he had been chanting in his head. 

_ “Not my son. Please, not my son.” _

It was all coming back to him, the flying lessons on Han’s personal ship, the trips to Naboo, the nights spent in the Nabooian Palace, the parties, the etiquette and horse riding lessons.

Everything was coming back to him. He was Prince Ben. Hux was right. 

He snapped out of his trance as the roar of the ship’s engines started up. He shot out of the bunk bed, nearly banging his head on the top bunk in his urgency. He raced toward the cockpit with renewed determination. 

He had to go back.

“Poe, I thought we weren’t leaving until tomorrow,” he called as he reached the cockpit, freezing as he spotted no one in the pilots seat. He stared in confusion and fear as the ship began to slowly prepare for its assent seemingly by itself. 

He leaned forward over the controls, muscle memory taking over as he attempted to shut off the engines, but each button he pushed and each switch he flipped seemed totally ineffectual.

He hurried back down the cockpit access corridor, swiftly turning down the hall and running to the airlock.

He mashed the button that would open the door and extend the boarding ramp, but that too wasn’t working. He began to panic, hoping against hope that this was just another crazy dream, that he would wake up in the room adjacent to Hux’s in Rey’s house and he would feel safe again. 

He was wrenched from his thoughts as a voice filled his head. 

_ “Pathetic and wishful thinking, young Skywalker.” _

His blood went cold at the deep raspy voice, a twisted gnarled face flashing across his memories. 

 

“Snoke.”

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! The next chapter should be up soon so don’t worry!
> 
> I can’t believe this story is almost done! I’ve been working on it for so long. 
> 
> Leave a comment if you’d like! They inspire me to write faster. 
> 
> ~Cynical


	10. The Force Flows

Hux didn’t know how much time had passed since Ren left. He was sitting silently on the bed, unable to process what had happened. His heart felt empty and he hated the feeling.

He didn’t even spare a glance at the doorway as Phasma rushed in, a bright smile stretched across her face.

“Armie! You’re awake! Rey has agreed to take us to breakfast before the meeting with Skywalker. I was just about to wake up Ren,” she said.

Hux couldn’t speak, didn’t want to speak, as Phasma knocked on the doors that connected Ren’s room to his. Without waiting for an answer, she entered, excited greeting on her tongue. She stopped short and Hux’s heart throbbed in pain at the confirmation he’d been dreading.

She stepped backwards out of the room, looking to Hux with a confused expression.

“Armie, where’s Ren?” she inquired, though she already knew the answer.

Hux closed his eyes, letting out a quivering breath and shaking his head.

“Armitage. Where is he? Where is Ren?” she demanded, her voice quaking with emotion.

“Gone,” Hux finally said, his knuckles white from his grip on his knees.

“He’s gone.”

Phasma pressed her lips together, slowly sitting beside Hux on the bed and placing a hand on his shoulder.

The two glanced up as Rey entered, her happy expression at seeing them quickly shifting to one of concern, then of solemn understanding.

“He… He’s left, hasn’t he?” she said as if the outcome were completely expected. Phasma nodded gravely and she sighed.

“As I suspected. Most of the fake ones that pass my test run away before they meet my uncle.”

Hux bristled at her words, eyes snapping up to glare her.

“He wasn’t a fake,” he snapped, clenching his fists as both Phasma and Rey looked to him with matching expressions of surprise.

“Armie, he ran away. He-“

“What he said about the boy opening the wall during the siege of the Palace of Chandrila, that was me. I heard him and the Queen from the servants passages while I was searching for my mother.”

“Armie…” Phasma breathed, staring at him in open mouthed shock. “You never told me.”

“I never told anyone,” he replied. “And now he’s gone. Run off chasing some memory of his life as a smuggler.”

“A smuggler?” Rey asked, suddenly moving closer to Hux, looking as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Yes. He said he remembered being taught to fly the ship we came here on. A YT something or other.”

“A YT-1300 Corellian Light Freighter?” Rey said, her tone insistent as she came to stand directly in front of Hux, looking him in the eye.

“Wha- Yes. How did you-“

“Flown by Captain Poe Dameron?” she continued urgently. Hux nodded and she snapped upright, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

“The Millenium Falcon was my father’s ship! He taught Ben to fly it. We used to run around on it and play hide and seek!” she cried, her brown eyes huge with uncontained excitement.

“My god,” Phasma whispered, hands coming up to cover her mouth. “He is the Prince.”

“We have to get him back!” Rey urged, grabbing Phasma’s hands and pulling her up off of the bed.

“He went searching for Dameron. They could be long on their way to Alderaan by now,” Hux said, his pulse racing at the sudden action.

Everyone froze, going completely silent as a knock sounded on the front door. With a look between each other, all three raced down the stairs towards the door with an intense sense of urgency.

Phasma reached the door first, throwing it open but letting out a breath at the sight of a rather panicked looking Finn.

“Finn? What is it?” Rey panted, holding her side and leaning a bit on Hux.

“Poe sent me. Something’s happening with the Falcon. He can’t get in and your friend can’t get out,” Finn managed to gasp out, holding on to the doorframe as he tried to catch his own breath.

With hardly a look spared between them, the three raced out the door, following Finn to the docks.

………

Ren looked over the control panel for what felt like it had to be the fiftieth time, trying to listen to Poe’s shouted directions coming from outside the ship. He had tried everything, even going so far as to take apart the ship’s navigational systems in hopes of an emergency shutdown.

There was a persistent and growing sense of panic that he tried his best to push to the back of his mind, but he knew that something was very wrong.

He felt his presence before it was announced by Poe, his insides growing warm very briefly at even the sound of his name.

“Ren?” Hux called from the outside of the ship, his voice barely carrying through the dense metal.

With hardly any hesitation, Ren ran from the cockpit to the nearest airlock where he’d be able to hear Hux the clearest.

“Hux,” he yelled back, reaching out and placing a tentative hand on the door. He could almost feel the other man do the same on the other side, the sensation of ghostly fingertips touching his own making him gasp.

“Ren, we’re going to get you out of there! Just keep trying from the inside!” Hux shouted.

“Ok!” Ren answered, running along the main corridor past the circuitry bay toward the docking ring. He skidded to a halt in the portside corridor when he spotted the ceiling hatch. His determination renewed, he jumped up and grabbed onto the extendable ladder, pulling it down with no small amount of effort.

He climbed the few steps up, balancing carefully on the thin rungs and gripping onto the hatch wheel. He grunted with effort, adjusting his grip on the rusted metal and twisting as hard as he could.

He smiled disbelievingly as the metal squealed deafeningly, the hatch halfway opened. With one last hard turn, he was able to push the hatch open with a bang.

His celebration was abruptly cut off as the ship started to rise, jolting violently and sending him off balance. He yelled as he slipped off of the ladder, smacking the back of his head against the bottom rung.

His world started to spin, an emaciated, twisted, snarling face the last thing he saw before everything went dark.

………

Hux’s breath halted, his heart skipping a beat as the ship began to slowly rise. Before he could think, he launched himself forward, gripping onto protruding metal slats on the side of the Freighter. Phasma yelled after him, but he ignored her as he climbed, nothing but pure adrenaline and utter determination pushing him forward.

He grunted with effort as he heaved himself on top of the ship, trying to stand. The ship jolted rather violently, sending him forward. He fell with a yelp, slamming his chin against the rapidly warming metal. He stubbornly pulled himself up as the taste of copper filled his mouth.

Spotting the open hatch, he crawled toward it, dropping down and landing on surprisingly steady feet.

He cursed at the sight of Ren laying sprawled across the floor, a small pool of blood spreading from under his head.

“Ren?” Hux called, gently kneeling next to him. He reached out, his fingertips just barely brushing his cheek when something seemed to hold him back. He paused in confusion, trying to move his arm but found that he seemed to be stuck in place.

“Ah. A knight in shining armour come to save the Prince,” a voice rasped from too close by, sending a chill down Hux’s spine.

“What is this? Who are you?” Hux demanded with all the authority he could muster.

The voice snickered, sending a wave of terror through Hux.

“You put on an impressive brave face, boy. But, I know what you are. Brendol Hux’s bastard, the son of a kitchen girl.”

“How do you know me,” Hux asked, feeling almost nauseous as the figure slowly emerged from the shadows. His eyes widened in recognition, his entire body shaking.

“No. You can’t be alive,” he half whispered, frozen in fear as the familiar figure of Snoke appeared not 7 feet down the corridor.

“Oh but I am. I am alive because he is alive,” he said with a sinister smirk, motioning to Ren’s prone form before Hux. “But the latter shall soon be fixed.”

Hux struggled against the invisible hold as Snoke approached, his gnarled hand outstretched towards Ren.

“You won’t touch him,” Hux hissed, his glare an empty warning. He knew he couldn’t do a thing. He was little more than helpless.

Snoke seemed amused by his threat, stopping as if to consider him. He leaned down, his old bones creaking with the movement. Hux held his breath, the rancid stench of death flooding his nostrils. He fought back tears as Snoke’s bony fingers brushed across his cheek, long filthy jagged nails stabbing into the skin along his jaw when Snoke pulled his chin up to face him.

“How admirable that you would still try to save him despite your fear. But, surely you realise that were I to release you both, he would go on to become King and you would be left behind, cast aside just as you were by your father.”

“Stop it,” Hux ground out from between clenched teeth.

Snoke laughed a raspy laugh, breath ghosting across Hux’s face before he released the trembling man’s jaw and stood straight.

“Pathetic, filthy cur,” Snoke spat, raising his hand once again.

Hux choked back a yell as he was dragged to his feet by an invisible force focused around his neck. He gasped for air as he was raised higher, his toes barely scraping the floor.

He was going to die.

………

_“On the wind_

_‘Cross the sea_

_Hear this song and remember_

_Soon you’ll be_

_Home with me_

_Once upon a December”_

_Ben hummed along with his mother as she sang. He could almost feel her rocking him with the gentle melody in the absolute darkness._

_Slowly, a grassy cliffside came into view as his mother’s soft voice faded. He could see his younger self standing in the grass at the bottom of the slight slope. The cloaked silhouette of his uncle stood beside a droid and a young Rey in a green dress at the edge of the cliff. They stared at the Chandrilan sunset together. Seeming to notice him, Rey turned and waved with a grin._

_The scene faded out, the stunning pink and gold of the serene sunset replaced by the main hold of the Falcon._

_Rey giggled as she ducked through a transfer hatch into the loading room. A younger Ben followed instinctually, hearing someone’s rushed countdown in the distance. The man’s voice got louder as he reached one, footsteps approaching._

_Ben hid behind a crate as Rey raced into the next compartment, ducking behind the life support systems._

_The small boy held back a giggle as Han slowly walked into the loading room, glancing around with a badly concealed smile._

_“I wonder where they are?” Han said aloud, theatrically scratching his head. “Leia’s gonna have a cow when I tell her i’ve lost the kids. Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to-“_

_Ben screeched in glee as Han jumped around the side of the crate he hid behind, picking him up and twirling him around._

_“I’ll always be with you, no matter what,” Leia’s voice echoed as the scene faded back to black._

_“No matter what.”_

_………_  

He was awake. His brain told him not to move, not to reveal his consciousness just then. He could hear Snoke speaking, spitting an insult, and he instantly felt Hux’s presence beside him. He felt the fear emanating from the other man and his heart ached.

He felt the surge of power, the energy moving around him targeted at Hux. He heard the white noise of panic in Hux’s usually busy mind and he decided he could no longer stand it.

He shot up from the floor, ignoring the pain and the dizziness from his head wound. His eyes snapped up to meet Snoke’s shocked expression and he extended his arm out. With a thought, he directed the force all around him to push against Snoke, sending his wrinkled form backwards a few feet.

Hux dropped to the floor behind Ren, grasping at his throat and gasping for air. Snoke met Ren’s eyes with a look of outrage, flinging his hands out. Crates from the main hold shook as they rose from the ground, suddenly careening towards Ren.

With hardly any time to think, Ren dove for Hux, covering the other man with his body as he threw up a hand in an attempt to block the heavy crates.

He took in a deep breath, opening his eyes that he hadn’t quite realised he’d closed to see the crates hovering inches away from his fingertips. They shook under the pressure of the force pushing in on them from either side, a few beginning to bend and creak ominously.

Snoke gritted his crooked teeth, his wrinkled face scrunching up in anger.

“Blasted Skywalker. Why do you not simply give in?” he ground out, bone thin arms shaking with effort.

Ren’s brow furrowed with concentration. He could feel the anger brewing inside of him, waiting to be released along with his control. He breathed deeply once again, calling upon the memory of his mother's song; of playing hide and seek with Rey, of Jedi training with his uncle, of flying lessons with his father. He thought back to first meeting Hux during the siege of the Palace of Chandrila, and then once again in what was left of the ballroom.

“I have too much to live for. What’s your excuse?” Ren replied, his voice clear despite the strenuous physical and mental exertion it took to hold back the crates.

The darkness within him seemed to almost curl in on itself as thoughts of Hux flooded into his mind. The prospect of Hux loving him back, of them getting married, of them growing old together.

His determination renewed, Ren rose from his crouched position, extending his other arm and pushing back, pushing harder.

Snoke looked upon him with utter disbelief, Ren taking slow steps forward as he forced Snoke back. The ship darkened for a moment, whirring back to life now without Snoke’s hold over it. Ren grunted in effort as he pushed ever harder, the crates closing in.

He gasped as he lost his footing, rising from the floor with a weightlessness that accompanied the freefall of the ship. His eyes once again met Snoke’s, the man smiling sadistically.

“You’d better hurry up and kill me. The ship is falling fast. Or do you not have the guts,” he hissed, empty dead eyes boring into Ren.

Ren opened his mouth to bite back a reply when a memory once again flashed across his thoughts. Before he could think, he gripped onto the wall beside him, pulling himself into and along the corridor toward the main hold. With a furious shout, Snoke followed, bodily shoving the crates out of his way.

Ren pushed past the floating orange upholstery from the curved couch, pushing an armchair directly in Snoke’s way before pulling himself through one of the transfer hatches and into the loading room.

With Snoke hot on his trail, he pushed off of the wall, floating over to hide behind a few crates attached to the floor with chains.

He vaguely heard the distinct sounds of Snoke struggling to pull his gangly frame through the transfer hatch. As quickly as he could while Snoke was occupied, Ren removed a pin from his hair, leftover from when it was styled the previous night, and set to work on the lock keeping the crates chained down.

A shock of fear went through him as he heard Snoke successfully manage to pull himself entirely through the hatch. He watched as Snoke appeared a mere few feet away, stopping and searching the small area with beady blue eyes.

Ren sucked in a breath when those unnerving eyes met his through a gap in the crates. Snoke’s expression darkened, hand raising once more as he bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl of rage.

“You have nowhere else to run. Accept your fate and die like the scum you are, just as your filthy parents did,” Snoke spat poisonously.

The click of the locking mechanism releasing seemed to echo through the air, louder than anything Ren could ever remember hearing. Without hesitation, Ren threw up his hands. Snoke shouted in surprise as the heavy crates flew toward him, crushing him against the closed loading doors.

Ren fixed him with a triumphant smirk, one hand gripping a divot in the wall to keep himself in place.

“This is for my family,” he said as he extended his free arm, the crates shoving harder against Snoke’s body. Snoke groaned in pain, bony hands scrambling over the crates as if attempting to gain some sort of leverage.

“This is for Hux,” he continued, flicking his wrist. The protective cover over the button that would release the airlock and open the loading doors flipped up at his beckoning. Snoke’s eyes flickered over at the clink it made.

“And this,” he almost whispered, holding up the lock as his brows furrowed, his expression darkening. “This is for me.”

With a grunt, he threw the lock. It floated toward its mark easily, the click of the button quickly followed by the loud clank of the airlock releasing.

“Goodbye, Snoke,” Ren spat.

Snoke shrieked like a beast as the loading doors opened, the rushing air creating a vacuum that sucked him out. Metal screeched as he gripped onto the floor of the Falcon, his struggle very quickly coming to an end as the chains from the crates snaked around his neck, his arms, his ankles.

Ren watched with a dark satisfaction as he plummeted completely out of the ship, dragged down into the deep blue water of the river far below by the weight of the crates.

As the loading doors closed, Ren released his own death grip on the wall, launching himself back the way he had come until he had reached the main hold. Hux’s eyes met his across the room and they knew what to do now an instant.

They struggled in the weightlessness, both far too aware of the fast approaching ground below. Ren grunted with effort as he managed to push past the rounded couch, pulling himself into the main corridor of the ship and down the cockpit access corridor. Hux followed close behind, his determination palpable.

Ren didn’t bother trying to strap himself completely into the pilots seat as Hux did in the copilots seat, flipping switches from muscle memory before gripping onto the steering and pulling up.

His heart jumped into his chest as water totally covered the viewport, feeling lightheaded at the sudden return of gravity. He ignored the sharp pain from hitting the edge of the chair, focusing on steering the ship up to safety; focusing on Hux’s determination.

Ren very carefully steered toward the cliffside, managing a rocky landing in the center of a field a good distance from the lower town of Naboo. He let out a shocked laugh.

They were alive. They had made it.

Ren froze when he felt a hand on his back, almost caressing. He glanced away from the viewport, watery brown eyes meeting vivid icy green.

“Your Highness,” Hux rasped, expression somehow both smug and relieved at the same time.

Ren huffed out another laugh. Without hesitation, Ren wrapped his arms around Hux in as much of an all engulfing hug as was possible with them each sitting respectively in their seats, burying his nose in the spot where his neck met his shoulder.

“You came for me,” he breathed, holding on tighter still. He shivered as one hand rested on his back, the other tangling in his hair.

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Hux whispered. Ren thought for only a moment before pulling back, meeting Hux’s eyes once again. The other man, usually so stony faced and unreadable, looked suddenly so passionate, so full of emotion.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Ren leaned in, crashing his lips against Hux’s in a fierce kiss. Not even a second went by before Hux was wholeheartedly returning the kiss, pulling Ren somehow closer still.

When finally they pulled apart for air, just panting and staring into each others eyes, Kylo began to laugh with such utter and sincere joy and relief. He felt as if an insurmountable weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

For the first time in his life, he was free.

………


	11. In a Crowd of Nabooians

Ren tried not to let his leg bounce as he anxiously waited in Rey’s parlour. He hugged one of her decorative pillows and tried to remember how to breath properly. The time had finally come when, after fifteen long years, he would be reunited with his family. 

He could sense a sudden difference in the surrounding air, an additional and familiar mind approaching before he even heard the doorbell ring. 

He heard Rey answer it, greeting their uncle with a hug. 

“Uncle Luke, I’m so glad you agreed to come,” she said, her voice muffled through the walls. “We’ve found him.” 

“So that’s what this visit was for. My child, I thought I had told you I would be seeing no more applicants. The heartbreak is becoming too much for-“

“He isn’t just an applicant. Go see him for yourself. Please,” Rey insisted. 

Ren waited with bated breath as a long silence stretched out between the two. He could have cried in relief when Luke sighed and muttered an agreement. 

Ren glanced up as a rather short man rounded the corner. His beard was longer and greyer than the last time he’d seen him, the wrinkles around his eyes deep with grief. 

Blue eyes met deep brown and Luke’s footsteps faltered minutely. He felt a firm presence in his mind that he hadn’t felt in years and he knew instantly that Luke felt it too. Luke stood straighter as he walked to the armchair across from Kylo, sitting down and just staring at him. Ren returned the stare, his heart hammering in his chest. 

“Well,” Luke breathed, the edges of his mouth turning up almost imperceptibly. “You’ve grown.”

Ren smiled at his words, fingering the blue stone in his bracelet nervously. 

“You’ve changed too. You look…” Ren started, not quite able to finish his thought. 

“Older?” Luke supplied, eyes twinkling with mirth. 

After a long moment of silence, Luke stood from his chair, approaching Ren and sitting down beside him. He seemed to hesitate for only a moment before placing his hand on Kylo’s shoulder and squeezing gently. 

“I can’t quite find the words to tell you how I feel at the moment. I’d been thinking about what I would say when we were reunited for years, but after a decade I had begun to lose hope. And now, here you are.”

Ren leaned into the touch, the comforting gesture warming him, seeming to chase away his nerves. 

“It’s good to see you again, Uncle,” Ren said softly. Luke smiled genuinely, pulling him into a warm long awaited hug. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, as if trying to make up for lost time. Ren couldn’t remember the last time he felt that safe. 

He was suddenly flooded with an odd sort of melancholy feeling as he thought of what the past fifteen years had been like for his Uncle. He had had the luxury at least of not remembering who he’d lost; his uncle had been searching and hoping all this time. He couldn’t fathom feeling that pain everyday. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner,” Ren whispered. 

Luke patted his back soothingly. “Don’t apologise. You’re here now,” he stated, almost seeming to squeeze him tighter. 

“Well, as much as I’d love to stay and catch up for a while longer,” Luke started suddenly, pulling back from Ren to smile at him. “There is someone who I believe will want to see you as soon as possible. Rey!”

Not a second later, Rey raced into the room, smoothing down her green skirt. 

“Uncle?” she said innocently, unable to hide her excitement. 

“Come along. We’re going to the Palace.”

………

Ren felt as if he was in a dream as he stared up at the Palace of Naboo. The grand double doors opened as Luke led him and Rey inside, Hux and Phasma following behind in the nicest clothes they had. He adjusted his cufflinks anxiously as the guards flanking the entrance corridor stared at him, seeming to size him up. 

At the end of the the entrance hall, two golden doors opened seemingly on their own and Ren gulped. Green eyes met his as Ren glanced back at Hux, holding his hand out in an offering. His heart hammered, his anxiety fluttering away as Hux stepped forward and slid his hand into Ren’s, the other man squeezing gently in reassurance. 

He could almost feel Hux’s own anxiety as Luke led them into the enormous and ornate room. 

Hux slowly released Ren’s hand to allow them to move forward, although he wished he hadn’t when he spotted a familiar figure standing at the bottom of the platform leading up to the throne. 

Before Luke could speak, a voice rang out in the silence, filled with hardly concealed emotion. 

“Ben,” Queen Leia said, her usually steady voice quivering. Ren was immediately flooded with relief, sadness, love, happiness; so many emotions all at once that he didn’t know what to feel. 

He rushed forward, running into his mother's open arms and holding on tight. He had to bend a significant amount for her to wrap her arms around him, settling at last for simply kneeling down before her. Her head rested against his shoulder and his heart ached when he felt her tears wetting his shirt collar. 

“Welcome home, son,” she whispered. 

………

~One Year Later~

Hux yawned as he finally convinced himself to open his eyes, stretching leisurely and revelling in the softness of the sheets. His hand landed on solid warmth and he glanced over with a sleepy smirk to see Ren, still fast asleep. 

“Your Highness? Wake up,” Hux said softly, shaking his shoulder gently. Deep brown eyes slowly slid open and a contented smile stretched across his tired face. 

“Well good morning, Prince Organa,” Hux said with a grin, twisting a strand of inky black hair around his finger. 

“Good morning, Prince Consort Hux,” Ren replied, wasting no time in wrapping his arms around Hux’s waist, planting slow, feather-light kisses on his neck. 

Hux continued to play with his hair, making an effort to not get his ring tangled in Ren’s wild bedhead. 

“Hux,” Ren almost whispered, planting one more kiss before moving to look his husband in the eyes. 

“Do you ever think about how truly lucky we are to be here? A year ago, I was a nobody, an orphan searching for a family I didn’t even know I had.”

“And I was a conman, searching for the perfect Prince Organa lookalike. If it had been up to Phasma, we’d have chosen that Matt Angora idiot instead of finding you.”

“Well then I’m glad it was up to you,” Ren said with a grin, pulling Hux closer.

“Me too,” Hux whispered into Ren’s neck, yawning again. 

“Don’t go back to sleep, sweetheart. Threepeo is going to barge in with his to-do list for the day any minute now.”

“Being royalty is so much work,” Hux groaned, though he couldn’t quite hide his smile. 

“I love you,” Ren laughed, kissing Hux’s forehead. 

Before Hux could answer, a curt knock sounded against the door before, right on time, Threepeo walked in with an almost comically long list and two servants. 

Ren and Hux shared a look before going about getting ready, Threepeo’s frantic voice now an oddly calming part of their daily routine. 

When the servants had finished dressing them, something neither of them would get used to anytime soon, Threepeo exited the chambers, still rattling off tasks from the list. 

Hux pulled Ren close to him before they reached the threshold, gently kissing his lips. 

“I love you too.”

………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happiest of Yule to you all if you celebrate it!
> 
> This story is finally wrapped up! I have more in the works so stay tuned for those!
> 
> Thank you to all of you who have left comments! You’ve really kept me going and without you guys I could not have finished this story. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> ~Cynical


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